This morning, I ran in the Bay Area Track Club’s Test Your Resolution Road 5k, which was part of their second-annual Bay Area Cross Challenge (BAXC). It was a nice, low-key event at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park. The BAXC had four events: 5K Road Race, Women’s 6K, Men’s 8K, Open 4K – with a field of 106 runners total. They also had a Kid’s Race.
I wasn’t sure what to expect – given the fact that this was hosted by a “track club” and also after viewing the recap video from the 2011 event – but I decided to go for it and sign up anyway (my goal being to run at least one event a month.) The Men’s 8K looked pretty competitive on the website’s description, so I went for the 5K, of course, which was added this year.
The weather was cool, but not as cold as my normal morning run temps have been lately (no gloves this AM.) Overall, a nice morning for a run.
My Race
(i’m just behind the guy in blue at the far left – sporting my orange shoes!)
Great run! I’ll call this my PB, since my previous PB was less than an 5K in official distance. It was a PB by overall time (25:40) and pace (8:16 [8:13 on my Garmin]).
The course started out just near the entrance to the Polo Field and looped through the roads in that part of Golden Gate Park. It was a nice combination of easy up and down hills with the final .1 mile finishing on the dirt course of the Polo Field. Pacing was good overall for me, with improvements over past races – split 2 benefited from some good downhill sections.
We even ran by the buffaloes (K asked why I didn’t take a picture…)
I stayed and watched the Women’s 6k and Men’s 8k. Pretty cool to watch.
Results:
Garmin time: 25:40 at an 8:13/mile pace. (?)
Official time: 25:40 at an 8:16/mile pace.
Wrap-Up
A personal best – not gonna complain about that! I really liked the size of the event and the vibe in the field and crowd. Even with elite runners – including some Olympians and World Class participants – it was a novice-friendly event…geared for people who just enjoy running.
I will definitely watch the calendar for the 2013 event…
Next up:
Brazen Racing’s Bay Breeze 10K on February 18th.
Giddy-Up!
Training Journal – 1/15/12:
- Current plan: 10K Training
- Today’s session: Test Your Resolution Road 5k
- Comments: see above…
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